News: Sunday Night Football takes big hit in ratings

[mrmojo]

I hardly watch other NFL game if Cowboys aren't playing. Like tonight I'm watching LeBron and Ball. 10, 15 years ago that would have never happened.

 

[Garrettop]

The biggest reason for the decline of football, in my opinion:

Not letting players HIT. The emphasis on safety is the exact opposite of what people want to see when they watch a violent sport. Football, boxing, hockey, the original iteration of UFC, car racing...being in the presence of potential death is what makes it exciting (though most people won't admit this). When your favorite player takes a huge hit after catching the ball but then hangs on, it's momentous. When a guy is down on the turf but then wards death off by getting up and walking off it's a thrill. There are supposed to be high stakes in the sport. That's what makes it exciting. If you completely neuter it, it isn't fulfilling what it was meant to fulfill. It's like making McDonald's all health-conscious and calorie-counting. You end up with tasteless food that nobody wants.

Not the best analogy. McDonalds was pretty tasteless without any changes, and the addition of the all-day breakfast menu fixed a lot of what was wrong with their bottom line.

 

[Bigdog]

That Fox rating of being up 9% was probably the Cowboys/Giants game, lol.

 

[sideon]

wouldn't it be great if they just designated Sunday Night Football as the Dallas Cowboys game. GIve up Thanksgiving for it. Play every Sunday night the whole season.

Honestly I like the noon games now because I can enjoy the rest of the day.

 

[robertfchew]

the ratings have been headed this way for the last two years the games are hard to watch and the officiating is awful and some of us fans are not sure that the outcomes of games are not tainted

It's going to take a few years without horrendously botched calls for the nfl to convince me its not rigged

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Verizon just re'upd for 2.5B over 5 year deal with the NFL. Story of the NFL's demise are greatly exaggerated.

Ratings are down as there are more and more ways to watch games and currently the only way to track viewers is through nielsen boxes.

I know everyone wants to crap on the NFL because it makes them feel better about what is probably a lost Cowboys season but it doesn't stand up to reality of league economics.

 

[Tass]

Not the best analogy. McDonalds was pretty tasteless without any changes, and the addition of the all-day breakfast menu fixed a lot of what was wrong with their bottom line.

Don't know how old you are but McDonald's tasted GREAT in the 70's and 80's.

 

[Jake]

This Thursday night classic between the Colts and Broncos ought to do wonders for NFL TV ratings.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Sunday afternoons, I don't watch many full NFL games except for the Cowboys, but I do watch NFL RedZone. Get to see all the scores and exciting plays, no commercials or filler, just the action. I'll watch some primetime games depending on matchups and my plans that night. As far as ratings, I don't think it's any one or two things, I think it's a number of different factors.

 

[StarBoyz83]

It'l for sure be up Sunday night. Even with both teams not being that good this year. Of course i have to work.

 

[conner01]

Too many game slots, over saturation.

That’s a part of it for sure but it’s lots of things
The protest have turned some fans off, streaming has taken away viewers
I have many friends who use jailbroke devices to stream games
Too many bad games, the most popular team in the nfl not having a great season, officiating making to big a part of games and the list goes on

 

[rkell87]

This isn't just the NFL; we'd like to think this is a result of an inferior product, but this is a result of the NFL wagon being hitched to a dying horse. The NFL can't even build out their own way to distribute their content because they aren't allowed to compete with the services that they've licensed their products to. Being down 9% on the year is because less people have a way to watch. Pittsburgh and Baltimore down 35%, two working class cities, people don't have the money for cable and Internet. Internet is a much better value and the NFL isn't enough to keep cable around. If the NFL offered a monthly plan like fight pass, I'd gladly pay for it but I want essentially want Sunday ticket, redzone, NFL network, and all-22 film rolled up in one, easy to use app and website.

 

[jobberone]

Too many game slots, over saturation.

That's definitely part of it.

 

[mardwin]

I heard there's a game tonight. Who's playing? Or should I ask, who's watching?

 

[big dog cowboy]

Too many game slots, over saturation.

I don't buy that for a second. There are easily 3-4 times as many college games on each weekend. You never hear of anyone saying there are too many college games on.

The NFL is giving me 6 games to watch each weekend out of 16. That's over saturation? Nope.

 

[Risen Star]

Even Sundays Cowboys Giants game would have received better ratings. I think the NFL has completely forgotten who their has cow is.....

Straight has, homie.

 

[Risen Star]

I hardly watch other NFL game if Cowboys aren't playing. Like tonight I'm watching LeBron and Ball. 10, 15 years ago that would have never happened.

Yeah because they weren't in the league 15 years ago. Don't know where you're going with that.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Verizon just re'upd for 2.5B over 5 year deal with the NFL. Story of the NFL's demise are greatly exaggerated.

Ratings are down as there are more and more ways to watch games and currently the only way to track viewers is through nielsen boxes.

I know everyone wants to crap on the NFL because it makes them feel better about what is probably a lost Cowboys season but it doesn't stand up to reality of league economics.

This^^^^

 

[JPostSam]

The biggest reason for the decline of football, in my opinion:

Not letting players HIT. The emphasis on safety is the exact opposite of what people want to see when they watch a violent sport. Football, boxing, hockey, the original iteration of UFC, car racing...being in the presence of potential death is what makes it exciting (though most people won't admit this). When your favorite player takes a huge hit after catching the ball but then hangs on, it's momentous. When a guy is down on the turf but then wards death off by getting up and walking off it's a thrill. There are supposed to be high stakes in the sport. That's what makes it exciting. If you completely neuter it, it isn't fulfilling what it was meant to fulfill. It's like making McDonald's all health-conscious and calorie-counting. You end up with tasteless food that nobody wants.

i disagree. i like physical play, but i don’t want to watch guys being concussed or having their knees blown out.

compare: mma has taken off *after*they went from “anything goes” to having weight classes and eliminating certain strikes.

good, tough, skilled competition is exciting. not maiming.

 

[CheapietheCheapskate]

The millenials just don't care like the generations before them did. It's only going to get worse. Sports as a whole has peaked.

But organic farming is going through the roof!